Swim England to manage and deliver Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme

Swim England has made a number of significant changes to the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) qualification ahead of the 2020 academic year.

The recognised national governing body will now deliver and manage the course in-house and has appointed Loughborough College as the education provider.

More than 330 16 to 19 year olds are enrolled on the programme, which is aimed at talented swimmers, para-swimmers, divers, artistic swimmers and water polo players.

Previous graduates include Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Adam Peaty, Paralympic champion Jessica-Jane Applegate, world champion diver Tom Daley, Olympic artistic swimming hopeful Isabelle Thorpe and Great Britain water polo player Sophie Jackson.

The two-year course provide learners with the opportunity to gain the skills, competencies, knowledge, university credit and a qualification while performing within the elite sports training and competition environment.

Topics covered include nutrition, psychology, lifestyle, finance, wellbeing, plus health and safety which are delivered alongside practical technical and tactical camps to provide athletes with a well-rounded development experience.

Exciting programme

Rachel Bayley, Swim England Head of Performance Operations, said: “Over the last few months, Swim England’s talent team have been working hard to prepare for the selection, recruitment and enrolment of the new cohort of first year learners and the arrival of the year two DiSE athletes for the start of the annual programme of activity in September 2020.

“Across, swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming, we have one of the largest number of athletes accessing this programme nationally, with more than 330 young people benefiting from this experience.

“During what is a difficult time in the industry, it is encouraging to see the motivation and enthusiasm of the athletes, coaches and talent teams in preparing for what promises to be an exciting programme.

“With the help of our experienced workforce and Loughborough College, we have made some creative adaptations to ensure it is a positive experience for everyone involved.”

To find out more about the DiSE programme, email [email protected].